System and Method for Accurate Application and Curing of Nail Polish

ABSTRACT

A nail polish application system may include a nail polish applicator to apply a curable nail polish to a nail of a user. An energy source may emit energy to selectively cure the curable nail polish. A sensor may be provided to detect a boundary of the nail of the user. The energy source may be configured to direct the energy to (i) the detected boundary of the nail during a first curing stage or (ii) to an area within the detected boundary of the nail during the first curing stage, and to (iii) avoid directing the energy to an area outside the detected boundary of the nail during the first curing stage.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/379,913, filed Apr. 10, 2019, which claims the benefit of the filingdate of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/791,930, titled“SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ACCURATE APPLICATION AND CURING OF NAIL POLISH”and filed on Jan. 14, 2019, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.62/657,138, titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ACCURATE APPLICATION ANDCURING OF NAIL POLISH” and filed on Apr. 13, 2018, the disclosures ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Nail polish is typically applied to finger and/or toe nails by handusing various coats. A first base coat is applied to the nail plate,which may serve to protect the underlying nail, as well as to facilitateadhesion of upper nail polish coats to the nail plate. Following thebase coat, one or more color layers are then applied to the base coat onthe nail plate. Then, a top coat is applied over the color coat(s) tostrengthen and protect the nail polish, which may help the nail polishfrom chipping, flaking, or otherwise being damaged. When applied in themanner described above, the nail polish typically lasts between two daysand a week before beginning to chip and/or flake. Further, when applyinga base coat, intermediate color coat(s), and a top coat, the underlyinglayer may need to mostly or fully dry prior to applying the next layer,which may result in a significant amount of time between application ofthe base coat and drying of the top coat.

Curable nail polish, which may be referred to as gel nail polish or gelcoats, is a type of nail polish that is cured instead of air-dried. Forexample, an ultraviolet (“UV”) curable gel coat may be applied manuallyand then exposed to UV source, such as a UV lamp or a UV light emittingdiode(s) (“LED”) to polymerize or otherwise cure the gel coat. Theresulting cured gel coat is often stronger than traditional nailpolishes, lasting anywhere between one and four weeks before chipping,flaking, and otherwise being damaged. Typically, gel coat applicationsare performed at salons or other places of business rather than in thehome, at least in part due to the additional hardware required to curethe gel polish.

In view of the above, it would be desirable to have a system thatprovides for easy, rapid, and accurate application and curing of gelpolish to desired areas, such as the nail plates of the fingers, eitherfor at-home or in-salon use.

BRIEF SUMMARY

According to a first aspect of the disclosure, a nail polish applicationsystem includes a nail polish applicator configured to apply a curablenail polish to a nail of a user, and an energy source configured to emitenergy to selectively cure the curable nail polish on the nail. Thesystem may include a sensor for detecting a boundary of the nail of theuser, and the sensor may be operatively connected to the energy source.The energy source may be configured to direct the energy to (i) thedetected boundary of the nail during a first curing stage or (ii) to anarea within the detected boundary of the nail during the first curingstage, and to (iii) avoid directing the energy to area outside thedetected boundary of the nail during the first curing stage. In someinstances, during the first curing stage, the energy source isconfigured to apply energy only to positions on the detected boundary ofthe nail. During a second curing stage after the first curing stage, theenergy source may be configured to apply energy to all positions withinthe detected boundary of the nail.

The nail polish applicator may be configured to apply droplets of thenail polish to the nail of the user. During the first curing stage, theenergy source may be configured to apply energy only to positions on thedetected boundary of the nail. During the first curing stage, the energysource may be configured to sweep a beam of the energy along thedetected boundary. During the first curing stage, the energy source maybe configured to apply a constant projection of energy along thedetected boundary. The nail polish applicator may be configured to applythe droplets of the nail polish as atomized droplets so that at least aportion of a leading end of the atomized droplets of nail polish isconfigured to cross the applied energy during the first curing stage.During a second curing stage after the first curing stage, the energysource may be configured to apply energy to all positions within thedetected boundary of the nail.

The nail polish applicator may include a reservoir having an interiorvolume for receiving the nail polish therein and a tip at a distal endof the reservoir. A first lead may be electrically coupled to the nailpolish to provide a first charge to the nail polish. A second lead maybe configured to have a second charge different than the first charge. Athird lead may be positioned proximate the reservoir. The first lead andthe second lead may be configured to create an electrical field above athreshold voltage to atomize nail polish exiting the reservoir. Thethird lead may be configured to be charged so as to direct the nailpolish in a direction different from a gravitational direction.Alternatively, the first lead and the second lead may be configured tocreate an electric field below a threshold voltage to maintain nailpolish exiting the reservoir in a non-atomized form.

The energy source may include a UV energy source and the nail polish maybe at least partially UV curable. The energy source may include at leastone mirror capable of movement in at least one degree of freedom. Theenergy source may further include a UV energy source to apply UV energyin all directions to non-selectively cure the nail polish. The energysource may include a projector.

The nail polish system may include a structured light system having aprojector and light sensor configured to detect energy projected by theprojector. The projector of the structured light system may function asthe energy source, and the light sensor of the structured light systemmay functions as the sensor. The structured light system may beconfigured to assist in detecting curvature of the nail in a depthdirection. The sensor may be configured to detect the boundary of thenail of the user periodically to update the detected boundary of thenail over time. The sensor may be configured to detect motion of afinger of the user, the finger containing the nail of the user, in orderto (i) update a position of the boundary or (ii) update a shape of theboundary.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, a nail polish applicationmechanism includes a housing, a first applicator, and a first seal. Thehousing may have a first side and a second side opposite the first side.The first applicator may be coupled to the first side of the housing andmay be impregnated with nail polish resin that is curable by anelectromagnetic energy, such as UV light. The first seal may be coupledto the housing, and the first applicator may be positioned within aclosed volume defined between the housing and the first seal, the firstseal adapted to block the electromagnetic energy, such as UV light, fromstriking the first applicator while the first seal is coupled to thehousing. The first applicator may be directly attached to the first sideof the housing. A second applicator may be coupled to the housing andmay be impregnated with a wiping solution. The solution may be one inwhich the nail polish resin is at least partially soluble. In oneexample, the solution may be an alcohol solution. The second applicatormay be directly attached to second side of the housing. The firstapplicator may extend between a first applicator base and a firstapplicator tip, the first applicator base being coupled to the firstside of the housing.

The housing may include a plurality of first side walls and a first basethat together form a first recess, the first applicator base being atleast partially positioned within the first recess, and the firstapplicator tip extending beyond the plurality of first side walls. Thefirst applicator base may be substantially rectangular and the firstapplicator tip may be rounded or pointed. If included, the secondapplicator may extend between a second applicator base and a secondapplicator tip. The second applicator base may be coupled to the secondside of the housing. The housing may include a plurality of second sidewalls and a second base that together form a second recess, and thesecond applicator base may be at least partially positioned within thesecond recess, and the second applicator tip may extend beyond theplurality of second side walls. The second applicator base may besubstantially rectangular and the second applicator tip may rounded orpointed. The first applicator and/or the second applicator may be anopen-cell foam. If the second applicator is included, a second seal maybe coupled to the housing, and the second applicator may be positionedwithin a closed volume defined between the housing and the second seal.

The housing may include a mating mechanism configured to releasablycouple to a corresponding mating member of a nail polish applicationsystem. The mating mechanism may include three cylindrical protrusionsarranged in a triangular configuration. The mating mechanism mayalternately include three cylindrical recesses arranged in a triangularconfiguration.

A nail polish application system may include the nail polish applicationmechanism described above, and a system housing. A movable member may bemovably coupled to the system housing. A mating member may be coupled tothe movable member. The housing of the nail polish application mechanismmay include a mating mechanism configured to releasably couple to themating member. Upon coupling the mating mechanism of the nail polishapplication mechanism to the mating member, the first seal may be brokenor otherwise removed. The mating mechanism may include one of aplurality of cylindrical recesses or cylindrical protrusions, and themating member may include the other of the plurality of cylindricalrecesses or cylindrical protrusions. The mating member may be rotatablycoupled to the movable member, so that in an installed condition inwhich the nail polish application mechanism is coupled to the matingmember, rotation of the mating member relative to the movable membercauses rotation of the nail polish application mechanism about alongitudinal axis of the nail polish application mechanism. The movablemember may be movable in one, two, three, or more degrees of freedom ofmotion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a highly schematic view of a housing of a system for providingrapid and accurate application and curing of curable nail polish.

FIG. 2 is a highly schematic cross-section of the housing of FIG. 1taken along a plane parallel to the side walls of the housing of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a highly schematic illustration of the housing of FIG. 1connected to a device having an application to assist in using thesystem for applying and curing the nail polish.

FIGS. 4-6 are examples of information screens that may be provided to auser during use of the system.

FIGS. 7A-D are exemplary results of color coating at different stages ofa multi-step color coating process.

FIG. 8A illustrates a system for a two-stage curing of nail polish usingliquid droplets.

FIG. 8B is a schematic illustration of a liquid droplet applied to acenter of a nail.

FIG. 8C is a schematic illustration of the liquid droplet of FIG. 8Bflowing along the nail.

FIG. 8D is a schematic illustration of the edges of the droplet havingbeen cured with the remainder of the droplet remaining uncured.

FIG. 8E is a schematic illustration of the remainder of the droplet ofFIG. 8D having been cured.

FIG. 9A illustrates a system of two-stage curing of nail polish usingatomized nail polish.

FIG. 9B is a schematic illustration of the result of a first curing stepusing the system of FIG. 9A.

FIG. 9C is a schematic illustration of the result of a second curingstep using the system of FIG. 9A.

FIG. 9D is a schematic illustration of the end result of a two-stagecuring method using the system of FIG. 9A after nail polish cured in thefirst curing step has been cleaned.

FIG. 10A is a highly schematic illustration of an electrosprayapplicator that may be used to deposit nail polish.

FIGS. 10B-C are highly schematic illustrations of utilizing theelectrospray applicator of FIG. 10A to direct the resulting nail polishmist in different directions.

FIGS. 10D-E are highly schematic illustrations of utilizing theelectrospray applicator of FIG. 10A to direct a droplet of nail polishin different directions.

FIGS. 11A-B are side and front views, respectively, of a nail polishapplication mechanism.

FIG. 11C is an exploded perspective view of the nail polish applicationmechanism of FIGS. 11A-B.

FIGS. 12A-G illustrate various steps of a method of using the nailpolish application mechanism of FIGS. 11A-C.

FIG. 13 illustrates an enclosure for use with the nail polishapplication mechanism of FIGS. 11A-C.

FIGS. 14A-D illustrate various steps of another method of using the nailpolish application mechanism of FIGS. 11A-C.

FIG. 15 illustrates sealing members that may be used to seal portions ofthe nail polish application mechanism of FIGS. 11A-C.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A system for accurately applying and curing a gel coat to the nailplates of the fingers or toes may include a housing 10, as shown inFIG. 1. It should be understood that, as used herein, the term gel coatand gel polish generally refers to any photo-curable nail polish,whether curable by a UV or other source. Housing 10 is illustratedgenerally as a box with side walls 12, top and bottom walls 14, andfront and rear walls 16 (rear wall not visible in FIG. 1). Front wall 16may extend only partially toward bottom wall 14 so that an opening orother entry 18 is provided. As is described in greater detail below,opening 18 may be sized and shaped so that a user may insert one or morefingers and/or toes into housing 10 so that the nail plates of thefinger nails and/or toe nails are completely within the housing. Itshould further be understood that although illustrated generally as abox, housing 10 may take other suitable forms that house one or more ofthe components described below and that are suitably shaped to allow forinsertion of a user's finger(s) and/or toe(s). In some embodiments,opening 18 is preferably sized so that only a single finger and/or toeis insertable into housing 10 at one time. In other embodiments, opening18 is preferably sized so that multiple fingers and/or toes areinsertable into housing 10 at one time. In one example, entry 18 issized so that four fingers, including the index finger, middle finger,ring finger, and pinky finger are insertable into housing 10 at the sametime, with the thumb intended to be inserted into the housingseparately. Similarly, it may be preferable to size opening 18 so thatall toes may be simultaneously positioned within housing 10, as it maybe difficult to insert only a single toe into the housing at a time.Further, a top (or inner) surface of bottom wall 14 may include one ormore grooves, recesses, or texturizations so that a finger(s) or toe(s)inserted therein may readily rest on the bottom wall in a substantiallystatic position. For example, in some embodiments, the top or innersurface of bottom wall 14 may include a single finger or toe-shapedrecess or indentation or multiple finger or toe-shaped recesses orindentations. In some embodiments, one or more removable trays may beprovided. Removable trays may include recesses, molds, or other featuresto assist positioning one or more fingers in a desired position. Forexample, one removable tray may be provided for each finger. Inaddition, as will be clear from the description below, such removabletrays may provide for easier cleanup, for example if excess nail polishis deposited on the removable tray. In other words, rather than excessnail polish being deposited on a bottom surface of housing 14 of housing10, such excess polish may be applied to the removable tray which may bedisposable, or otherwise may be easier to clean by virtue of its abilityto be removed. Whether or not removable trays are provided, securingdevices may be provided to assist in securing the position of a fingeror toe positioned within housing 10. For example, one or more straps maybe provided to secure a user's finger in a desired position. Such strapsmay be simple loops of material, whether rigid or elastic. In otherembodiments, straps may be able to be tightened and secured in thetightened condition with known fastener means, for example hook-and-loopfasteners such as those under the tradename VELCRO. Other mechanisms maybe provided to assist in maintaining the finger or toe in a desiredposition. For example, one or more clamping mechanisms may be providedto assist in maintaining the finger or toe in the desired positionwithin housing 10.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-section of housing 10 shown in FIG. 1, thecross-section taken along a plane parallel to the side walls 12 of thehousing and extending from the front wall 16 to the back wall. Housing10 may include a camera 20 or other optical device capable of imagingthe finger(s) or toe(s) inserted through opening 18 into the housing.Camera 20 may be operatively connected to shape recognition software oranatomical recognition software configured to identify the outline of afingernail inserted into housing 10. It should be understood that theterm “fingernail” as used herein may also refer to toenails. Anysuitable software, including off the shelf software, may be employed todetermine boundaries of the nail of the finger and/or toe, includingappropriate software available in the open source computer visionlibrary. For example, edge detection computer vision software may besuitable for determining boundaries between the fingernail and theadjacent skin. Other suitable examples may include the use of structuredlight, a system in which a projector projects a grid or array, such asan array of infrared dots, onto the fingernail, with a camera or otherobject determining the space between objects in the grid. The use ofstructured light may assist in providing depth sensing, for example todetermine the curvature of the nail in three dimensions (although thecurvature of the nail in two dimensions may also be determined). In oneexample, the grid or array of objects (e.g. dots or lines) may have aknown spatial relationship between the objects in the array. When thearray is projected from a particular location, the array will deformbased on the position and/or distance of the objects within theprojection path. The projector may include a reader to view or otherwise“see” the deformed array to assist in determining the three-dimensionalcontours of the objects onto which the array is projected, or otherwisecamera 20 or a similar sensing device may be used to view the projectedarray to assist in determining depth and surface information of objectsonto which the array is projected. As is explained in greater detailbelow, laser projectors may be provided to assist in curing nail polish,and such laser systems may also be used to assist in depth sensingand/or determining contours of the nail. In other words, if a structuredlight system is included in the system, the structured light system mayinclude a light sensor which may be separate from, or the same as, thesensor used to detect the boundaries of the fingernail. Similarly, aprojector of the structured light system may be separate from, or thesame as, the energy source that is configured to cure the nail polishresin.

Preferably, camera 20 is operatively connected, e.g. by wires orwirelessly, to an application, such as an application running on amobile phone or other suitable device with a display. Upon insertion ofa finger into housing 10 via entry 18, the user may initiate anapplication to begin a method for applying and curing gel polish to thefingernail. For example, camera 20 may provide a live feed (or staticpicture) to a mobile application on a mobile device 30, as shown in FIG.3. Preferably, anatomical or shape recognition software operativelyconnected to the camera 20, which may be running on device 30, onsoftware provided with camera 20, or other software otherwise connectedto the camera (including software within housing 10), detects the outeredges of the fingernail within housing. The application may overlie thedetected outline on the live feed (or static picture) and present theuser an option of confirming the accuracy of the detected outline, orotherwise re-initiating the detection process. If the shape detectionappears accurate, the user may confirm and continue the method,preferably with little or no movement of the position of the fingerwithin housing 10. In some embodiments, a display serving the samefunction as device 30 may instead be integrated onto housing 10. Instill other embodiments, the detection software may include an algorithmto confirm the shape detection without presenting the user an option ofconfirming the accuracy of the shape detection. It should be understoodthat the nail boundary detection may not be solely a single step inwhich the boundary of the nail is detected, but the detection may beperformed periodically, continuously, or substantially continuously sothat the boundary of the nail is periodically updated. With such amethod, the nail boundary may be rapidly updated over time so that if auser moves his or her finger, the system is able to recognize thatmovement occurred update the nail boundary accordingly. It should beunderstood that the speed at which such updating of the nail boundaryoccurs may be fast enough to provide for real-time or near real-timeupdates during an application of nail polish, and this continuous orperiodic detection may apply to all methods described herein. In otherembodiments, instead of or in addition to periodically or continuouslyupdating the detected nail boundary, after an initial detection of thenail boundary, camera 20 or another sensor may track bulk motion of thefinger in order to (i) move the nail boundary based on movement of thefinger, such as side-to-side translation; (ii) scale the nail boundarybased on movement of the finger, such as toward or away from the cameraor other sensor; and/or (iii) update the boundary of the nail based onrotation of the finger relative to the camera or other sensor.

Once the outline of the fingernail is confirmed or otherwise detected,an applicator 40 within housing may spray a base coat of photo-curablegel polish onto the fingernail within housing 10. In one embodiment,applicator 40 may include a cartridge or other container housing avolume of the base coat polish that is operatively connected to a nozzle42 pointed toward the fingernail. The applicator may spray a base coat,for example via aerosol atomization, onto the fingernail, although othermethods of application may be suitable, such as electrospray which isdescribed in greater detail below. In some embodiments, nozzle 42 may beconfigured to spray a volume of base coat to cover a large areasufficient to ensure complete coverage of the fingernail, without takinginto account the boundary of the fingernail detected using camera 20. Inother embodiments, the applicator 40 and/or nozzle 42 may be operativelyconnected to the shape detection software to direct the volume and sprayarea of the nozzle to specifically direct the base coat toward thedetected fingernail, and away from the skin. In both cases, it ispreferable to ensure coverage of the entire fingernail. As will bedescribed below, any excess spray, for example on the skin of thefinger, can be simply wiped off after the base coat is cured. However,it is preferable that the application and curing of the nail polish, asdescribed in greater detail below, is accurate enough to minimize and/oreliminate the need for such wiping of uncured nail polish. If nozzle 42is operatively connected to the shape detection software to direct thespray of the base coat, it may be coupled to a motor to facilitate themovement of the nozzle. In embodiments in which the applicator 40 and/ornozzle 42 are capable of moving in order to more precisely direct thepolish, the applicator 40 and/or nozzle 42 may be coupled to a two-orthree-axis motor driven gantry that provides for positioning of theapplicator 40 and/or nozzle in any direction in the X and Y axes, for atwo-axis gantry, and also in the Z axis, for a three-axis gantry system.It should be understood that any combination of up to three lineardegrees of freedom and up to three rotational degrees of freedom may beprovided in such positioning systems in order to allow for desiredpositioning of the applicator 40 and/or nozzle 42.

The applicator 40 and/or nozzle 42 may have any suitable form. Forexample, the applicator 40 may include one or more re-fillablecartridges that may be filled with the desired polish. In otherembodiments, pods or other containers intended for individual use may beused instead. Single-use pods may provide certain advantages. Forexample, re-usable applicators may encounter issues with fluid remainingin the nozzle or in other portions of the applicator following a firstuse, which may result problems during second and later uses. Single useapplicators avoid such issues. Further, single use applicators mayuseful in terms of color choice, as a desired polish and/or colors maybe selected for each individual application.

With the fingernail coated with a layer of uncured base coat, a UVsource 50 operatively connected to the shape detection software directsUV energy toward the entire detected area of the fingernail, with thelimits of the UV energy application being precisely directed within thedetected boundaries. Although source 50 is described as a UV source, itshould be understood that other energy sources may be suitable dependingon the type of energy required to cure the various gel polish coats. Inone example, UV source 50 may be an apparatus (e.g. a stereolithographyapparatus, selective light apparatus, laser curing apparatus, etc.)which includes a static UV source directed onto one or more scanningmirrors (preferably two scanning mirrors), the scanning mirrors beingmotorized and operatively connected to the shape detection software. Thescanning mirrors, which may take the form of high speed mirrorgalvanometers, may move quickly through various positions to reflect UVenergy from the UV source toward all positions on the fingernail withinthe detected fingernail boundary, such that only the base coat withinthe detected fingernail boundary is cured, and all other base coat (forexample any base coat inadvertently applied to the skin of the finger)remains uncured. In other examples, UV source 50 itself may be motorizedand moveable such that the UV sources is directed to a single position,with the UV source physically moving along a track or system of trackssuch that UV energy is directed to each point within the detectedfingernail boundary as the UV sources moves along the track or system oftracks. In this embodiment, the UV source itself (or a componentconnecting the UV source to the track or system of tracks) may beoperatively coupled to the shape detection software in order to directthe UV energy to only the positions within the detected fingernailboundary. It should be understood that the relative positioning ofcamera 20, applicator 40, nozzle 42, and UV source 50 shown in FIG. 2 ismerely provided to illustrate the components, and these components neednot be in the positions shown and can be arranged in any desiredposition, including in some embodiments stacked upon one another.Similarly, although housing 10 is illustrated as fully enclosed otherthan opening 18, it should be understood that such a configuration maynot be necessary. Although in a preferred embodiment, the projection ofUV light for curing is performed using a dual galvanometer laseapproach, other methods may be suitable. For example, a digital lightprocessing (“DLP”) projection system may be a suitable alternative. DLPprojection technology may employ an array of mirrors that can berepositioned rapidly to reflect light either to a desired position oronto a heat sink (or light dump). DLP projection technology is generallyknow and is not described in greater detail herein.

Since the curing of the UV-curable base coat may be near instantaneous(e.g. thousands or hundredths of a second) following application of UVenergy, the amount of time it takes to cure all of the base coat withinthe detected fingernail boundaries may mostly be limited by the speedwith which the UV source is able to direct UV energy to each pointwithin the detected fingernail boundary. However, it should beunderstood that other variables, including the power of the energysource (e.g. the power of the laser) and the reactivity of the nailpolish, may also affect the curing rate. Once the base coat has beencured by the UV source 50, an indication may be sent to the user. Forexample, housing 10 may be operatively coupled to an audible signal or avisual signal to indicate completion of the curing. If coupled to adisplay, such as device 30, software running on the device may display aprompt, as shown in FIG. 4, to the user to remove his or her finger fromhousing 10, and to wipe off any uncured base coat. If applicator 40applied the base coat to any areas outside of the detected fingernailboundary, that excess base coat will not have cured because the UVsource 50 is limited to transmitting UV energy into the areas within thedetected fingernail boundary. As such, the remaining base coat will nothave cured and may be readily removed, for example by wiping with acloth. The user may be instructed to position the finger back insidehousing 10 after removal of uncured base coat. However, in otherembodiments, the user may leave the finger within housing 10 aftercuring of the base coat, without removing uncured base coat at thispoint. Still further, in some embodiments, the application and curing ofthe nail polish is accurate enough so that no excess nail polish isapplied, minimizing and/or eliminating the need for any wiping steps.

If the user removes his or her finger from the housing 10 to removeuncured base coat from the finger, and then re-positions the fingerwithin the housing, the camera 20 may interact with the shape detectionsoftware to once again determine the boundary of the fingernail, in thesame manner as described above. If the user leaves his or her fingerwithin housing 10, the camera may not need to again detect the boundaryof the fingernail, especially if the finger has remained insubstantially the same position. In either case, once the finger iswithin housing 10 and the base coat has been cured and the boundaries ofthe fingernail are again determined (or otherwise remain determined froma previous step), applicator 40 may spray a second coat, such as a colorcoat, of photo-curable polish toward the fingernail. Similar to asdescribed above with respect to the application of the base coat, theapplication of the color coat is preferably completed so that at leastthe entire detected area of the fingernail is covered with the colorcoat, with or without aid of a motor to direct nozzle 42 to spray towardthe detected fingernail boundary. With the color coat sprayed on top ofthe cured base coat, UV source 50 again operates to direct curing energyprecisely to the areas within the detected boundary of the fingernail.It should be understood that, in some instances, it may be desirable toprovide for more than one color coat, in which case the procedure forthe second color coat would be substantially identical to the procedurefor the first color coat, and so on.

It should be understood that housing 10 may include multiple applicators40, one for each coat, including the base coat, one or more color coats,and a top coat. Similarly, each applicator 40 may include a dedicatednozzle 42, or a single nozzle may be operatively connected to eachapplicator. In some embodiments, applicators 40 may be configured toreceive pre-filled cartridges of the base coat, color coat(s), and topcoat.

Once the color coat has been cured by the UV source 50, the useroptionally may remove his or her finger from housing 10 and wipe off anyuncured color coat, re-insert the finger into the housing, and confirmthat the camera 20 and connected software again detects the appropriateboundaries of the fingernail. If this step is to be performed, the usermay be provided instructions, for example via device 30 as shown in FIG.5. Otherwise, the user may leave the finger positioned in place afterthe color coat has cured, which may obviate the need for re-detectingthe boundaries of the fingernail, particularly if the finger has notchanged positions.

The process may be repeated for a photo-curable top coat, with the topcoat being sprayed from an applicator 40 via nozzle 42 to cover at leastthe areas of the detected fingernail boundary in the same fashiondescribed above for the base coat and color coat. Again, based on thedetected fingernail boundaries, UV source 50 may be precisely directedto cure top coat only within the detected boundaries of the fingernail.When the top coat curing is complete, the user may be instructed, forexample via device 30 as shown in FIG. 6, to remove his or finger andremove any uncured top coat (as well as any uncured base coat and colorcoat if the finger has remained within the housing between each coatingstep) from the finger. As with the base coat and color coat, becauseonly the various coats within the detected boundary of the fingernailhave been cured, wiping away uncured coat may be readily performed usinga cloth or other cleaning wipe.

In the example provided above, a single fingernail is completed afterapplication, curing, and wiping away uncured base coat, color coat(s),and top coat. After completion of a first finger, the user may beinstructed to insert the next finger into the housing, with the processdescribed above completed for the second finger, and the remainingfingers desired to be polished. In other examples, two or more fingersmay be inserted into housing 10 at the same time, with the shapedetection software detecting each fingernail boundary, and the coats maybe applied to and cured for all fingers within the housing prior toproceeding to the next coat. In other words, the base coat may besprayed onto all fingernails and cured prior to spraying the color coatonto any finger. Still further, although the exemplary method describedabove is described as requiring user interaction following each coatapplication, such user interaction may not be required. For example,once the user's finger is positioned within housing 10, the user mayperform a single action, such as pressing a button, after which the basecoat, color coat(s), and/or top coat may be applied without requiringuser interaction between each application. In still other embodiments,the procedure may be fully automated such that the user need notinteract with the system at all once the user places his or her fingerin the appropriate position.

As should be understood from the above description, the precision of theUV source 50 coupled with the detection of the fingernail boundary andthe spray of the various coats to cover at least the entire detectedboundary, facilitates an extremely fast and accurate curing of thevarious nail polish coats that may not otherwise be possible with moreconventional gel polish systems.

Further, the precision of the UV source 50 may help facilitate variousdesigns within the color coat. For example, as shown in FIG. 7A, afterapplication and curing of the base coat, applicator 40 may spray a firstlayer of color C1 onto the entire detected fingernail area. However, theUV source may be directed to cure a limited portion of the color coatwithin the detected fingernail boundary, for example some particulardesign. In one example, if it is desired to have half the fingernailcolored red, and the other half of the fingernail colored green, a redcolor coat C1 may be first sprayed onto the fingernail, and the UVsource 50 directed to cure only half of the fingernail within thedetected boundaries. Then, the finger could be removed from the housingand the uncured color coat wiped away, leaving half the fingernail withcured with red color C1, and the other half of the fingernail exposingthe previously cured base coat, as shown in FIG. 7B. The finger may bere-inserted into the housing and the fingernail boundary re-detectedand/or re-confirmed, and the applicator 40 may spray a second greencolor coat C2 over the entire area within the detected fingernailboundary as shown in FIG. 7C. Then, the UV source 50 is directed totransmit energy only to the other half of the fingernail within thedetected boundary. The user would again remove his or her finger afterthe second color coat C2 is cured, and wipe of any uncured color coat.Because the green polish C2 sprayed over the previously cured red polishC1 is not cured in the second color curing step, the uncured greenpolish is easily removed, leaving a fingernail with cured red color coatC1 on one half of the fingernail and cured green color coat C2 on theother half of the fingernail. The finger would then again bere-inserted, and the top coat applied and cured (an uncured top coatwiped away) in substantially the same manner described above. A similarresult may be reached with other methods. For example, the first redcolor coat C1 may be applied and the entire nail cured, and the secondcolor coat C2 applied over the cured first coat, with only half of thesecond color coat C2 cured, and any excess uncured second color coat C2wiped off. Still further, the applicators may be precise enough to applythe desired colors only to the desired areas of the nail, with thepolish being cured as necessary by the UV source.

Still further, it should be understood that various other designs may becured by directing the UV source to cure only areas of the most recentlyapplied color coat that are desired to remain in the final design. Forexample, a first red color coat could be applied and cured on the entirefingernail. A second green color coat could be sprayed over the entirearea within the fingernail boundary, but the UV source 50 directed tocure only certain portions of the second green coat to match aparticular design. The uncured second green coat within the fingernailboundary may be wiped away, and then either a top coat applied andcured, or a third color coat applied with the UV source 50 beingdirected to cure only desired portions of the third color coat into thedesired design. As should be clear from the above, as many color coatsas desired could be applied, with the UV source 50 precisely curing onlythe desired portions of the relevant color coat to achieve essentiallyany desired design.

Although any desired color may be available for use in the systemsdescribed herein, various methods of color mixing may be used to achievea large range of colors with various mixing techniques. For example, oneor more partially transparent color pigments may be layered on top ofone another to achieve a desired mix. In other example, a neutraldensity transparent layer of polish may be applied on top of a colorlayer in order to achieve a shade different from the underlying color.For example, a bright red base pigment may be provided in a single-usecontainer, and one or more neutral density transparent layers may beapplied over the bright red base to achieve a desired shade differentfrom the base pigment.

It should be understood that, in some embodiments, one or more of thecoating steps described herein may be omitted from the process. In otherwords, skipping or otherwise omitting one or more of the base coat step,the color coat step(s), and the top coat step is still within the scopeof the invention. For example, although the base coat and top coat maybe generally useful, it is envisioned that the processes described aboveand below may be performed with only a curable color coat in order toeven further reduce the amount of time required to apply a color gelcoat to the finger and/or toe nails.

The system(s) and method(s) described above may be modified in variousways in order to provide alternative functionality. For example, twoalternative methods of controlling the curing of one or more polishcoats are described below and may be referred to as the “border control”method and the “light curtain” method. These embodiments will bedescribed only in the context of application of a single photo-curablecolor coat, but it should be understood that, similar to the embodimentsdescribed above, additional color coats, base coats, and/or top coatswould be available for use in addition to a single color coat.

The border control method is at least partially predicated on the factthat photo-curable nail polish can cure rapidly, particularly if thepolish composition includes enough reactants (e.g. the amount ofphoto-initiator in the formulation), although the entire formulation maybe relevant to curing speed. For example, it is feasible to photo-curesome curable nail polishes on the order of milliseconds upon applicationof the appropriate energy source, such as UV light. FIG. 8A illustratesthe housing 10 shown previously with camera 20, applicator 40, nozzle42, and UV source 50 illustrated schematically as included in a singlecompartment, although the components need not physically be provided inthe same compartment. In the border control method, once the boundary ofthe nail has been detected (with or without use of a separate screen forconfirmation), UV source 50 may provide a UV beam 52 that rapidly sweepsalong the detected boundary. As with examples described above, therapidly sweeping UV beam 52 may be provided with two high-speed rotatingmirrors that project or direct the UV beam 52 along the detected nailboundary. Alternatively, a prism or other device could be provided tocreate an actual wall of UV light extending from the prism to thedetected nail boundary. Once the UV beam 52 is sweeping along thedetected nail boundary, one or more drops of liquid UV-curable nailpolish may be deposited by applicator 40 via nozzle 42. It should beunderstood that, in the border control methodology described herein, itis preferable that the nail polish be provided in one or more relativelylarge liquid droplets 44, as opposite to in an atomized or aerosolizedspray. The applicator 40 and/or nozzle 42 should be positioned so that,as the droplet(s) 44 travels between the nozzle 42 and the nail plate,the droplet(s) 44 does not cross any active beam 52. Preferably, thedroplet(s) 44 is directed to land at or near a center of the nail plate.However, the droplet(s) may be directed to any desired portion of thenail plate, which may or may not include the center of the nail plate.For example, in some embodiments, it may be preferably to provide twodroplets on the front and rear halves of the nail plate, respectively,or four droplets in different quadrants of the nail plate. It should beunderstood that the relative sizes of objects shown in FIG. 8A are notintended to be to scale, and it may be desirable for the distancebetween the applicator 40 (and/or nozzle 42) and the nail bed of thefinger inserted into housing 10 be relatively short to reduce thelikelihood of splashing of the polish on contact with the fingernail. Atop view of the fingernail with an uncured droplet 44 in an initialposition is shown in FIG. 8B.

The droplet(s) 44 of nail polish remain in liquid form as it traversesthe space between the applicator 40 and the fingernail, since at nopoint during the path between the applicator 40 and the fingernail doesthe droplet(s) 44 become cured via the beam 52 of UV energy. Once theliquid droplet(s) 44 contacts the fingernail (e.g. near the center), thedroplet(s) 44 will begin to flow toward the edges of the fingernail, asshown in FIG. 8C, due to a combination of gravity, the shape of thefingernail, and the composition of the particular nail polish. As thedroplet(s) 44 flows, the UV source is still sweeping the UV beam 52along the detected edge of the fingernail. Thus, as the leading edges ofthe flowing droplet(s) 44 reach the edge of the fingernail, the sweepingUV beam 52 contacts the curable nail polish causing it to rapidly hardenon the nail at or near the position of the sweeping UV beam 52, as shownin FIG. 8D. The initial result of this border control method is that theportions of droplet(s) 44 that reach the detected edge of the fingernail harden rapidly, providing a raised physical boundary to retain theliquid portions of droplet(s) 44 within the cured polish boundary. Thecured nail polish boundary is labeled in FIG. 8D as 46. Once the polishdroplet(s) 44 cures around the detected nail boundary, the UV source 50can direct the UV beam 52 to sweep within the area inside the detectedboundary to cure the remaining liquid droplet(s) 44 on the nail plate.In an alternate embodiment, rather than sweeping the UV beam 52 alongthe area inside the nail boundary, the remaining liquid droplet(s) 44may be flash cured, for example by exposure to a large amount of UVenergy, for example via a UV bulb or other device within housing 50. Theresulting fully cured nail polish is illustrated in FIG. 8E and labeledas 48. It should be understood that, because the border control methodensures that no polish—cured or otherwise—is positioned outside the nailboundary, flash curing following the initial border curing does not riskcuring any polish onto the user's skin, since all of the polish has beenretained within the borders of the nail boundary.

Although in some embodiments of the border control method (and in someembodiments of other methods described herein), the finger of the usermay be generally parallel to the floor of housing 10 or otherwisepositioned in a plane substantially orthogonal to the direction ofgravity, other positions of the finger relative to the floor may bedesirable. For example, there may be certain benefits to orienting theuser's finger at a downward angle, in other words, at an angle at whichthe proximal portion of the nail plate closer to the knuckle ispositioned higher than the distal portion of the nail closer to thefingertip. Although any angle may be suitable, positioning the nailplate in a plane (or substantially in a plane due the curvature of thenail plate) that is oriented between about 30 and about 60 degrees,including about 45 degrees, relative to the floor may be desirable. Withsuch a downward angle of the fingernail, droplet(s) 44 will tend toadvance toward the tip of the finger nail due to gravity, although someamount of the droplet(s) will also likely migrate toward the edges ofthe nail plate. With such a configuration, any excess droplet(s) 44 maytend to pass beyond the distal tip of the nail plate and runoff the nailplate, including without contacting the skin of the fingertip. If thefinger is held fully parallel to the floor, excess droplet(s) 44 maytend to pool up at or adjacent the cured border 46, and positioning thefinger at a downward angle may minimize and/or eliminate thatpossibility. Still further, in some embodiments it may be desirable toapply the uncured polish to the finger nail while the finger isinverted, or in other words where the nail plate is pointing downward inthe direction of gravity. With the inverted position, any runoff willfall downward to the bottom of housing 10, which may also minimizeand/or eliminate the likelihood of any nail polish contacting the user'sskin outside the nail plate. However, it should be understood that insuch embodiments, droplet(s) 44 would be applied from a position belowthe user's finger, and may require propulsion, for example viaatomization or other suitable methods described herein. It should beunderstood that these various finger positions may be applicable notonly to the border control method, but the light curtain methoddescribed below and any other methods described herein.

It should be understood that, although multiple droplets 44 are shown inFIG. 8, in practice it may be sufficient for a single droplet 44 toinclude enough volume to cover the entire finger nail. In someembodiments, the applicator 40 may interact with the edge detectionsoftware to apply a droplet 44 of a particular size (or a particularnumber of droplets 44 of a given size) based on the total area withinthe detected boundary. As a result, applicator 40 may be controlled todeposit a greater volume of nail polish on a larger nail, such as thethumb nail, compared to a smaller nail, such as the pinky nail.

Still further, it should be understood that the particular compositionof the nail polish (including the color coat and any base and/or topcoats) may be modified to enhance the results of the border controlmethod. For example, for the border control method which applies one ormore liquid droplets, it is desirable that the droplet evenly spreadsover the surface of the finger nail. One way to control thischaracteristic, which may be referred to as “sheeting,” is to addwetting agents to the nail polish in order to reduce the surface tensionof the nail polish. Another characteristic of the nail polish that maybe modified is the viscosity. Viscosity generally refers to the internalfriction within a fluid causing resistance to flow. If the viscosity ofthe nail polish is too low, it may flow quickly upon contact with thefinger nail which may be undesirable, particularly if the flow is sofast that the polish is able to flow beyond the boundaries of thefingernail prior to the UV beam 52 being able to fully cure the nailpolish at the nail boundary. However, low viscosity may only beproblematic if the curing process is too long. Thus, if the nail polishhas low viscosity, additional reactants (e.g. UV-curable photo-reagents)may be provided in the nail polish to help increase the rate of curing.

Although the border control method described above is described inrelation to a two-stage curing method for a single nail polish, itshould be understood that the two-stage process may be repeated multipletimes for a single nail. For example, the border control method mayinclude a two-stage curing of a base coat, followed by a two-stagecuring of one or more color coats, a two-stage curing of a top coat, orany desired combination.

As noted above, a second alternative method of applying and curing nailpolish is referred to herein as the light curtain method. As with theborder control method, the light curtain method is at least partiallypredicated on the fact that photo-curable nail polish can cure rapidly.FIG. 9A illustrates the housing 10 shown previously with camera 20,applicator 40, nozzle 42, and UV source 50 illustrated schematically asincluded in a single compartment, although the components need notphysically be provided in the same compartment. In the light curtainmethod, once the boundary of the nail has been detected (with or withoutuse of a separate screen for confirmation), UV source 50 may provide aconstant “curtain” of UV light extending from the UV source 50 to theedges of the nail. This curtain may be created in the same way asdescribed above for the border control method, via a UV beam thatrapidly sweeps along the detected nail boundary. Alternatively, as withthe border control method, a prism or other device could be used tocreate an actual constant wall of UV light extending from the prism tothe detected edges of the nail. For the purpose of further explanation,the light curtain will be referred with part number 52 in the drawingsand text, and it should be understood that light curtain 52 may beproduced by any suitable method. Once the light curtain 52 is in place,a closed volume is created between the UV source 50, the portions of thenail between the nail boundary, and the light curtain 52. It should beunderstood that this closed volume is not a physically closed volume,but rather a three-dimensional boundary formed by the light curtain 52and the portions of the nail within the nail boundary.

Whereas the border control method is preferably used with one or morerelatively large droplets 44 of liquid nail polish, the light curtainmethod is preferably used with atomized nail polish, such that the nailpolish can be sprayed in a mist 45 of fine particles or droplets. Asshown in FIG. 9A, mist 45 preferably originates from a position withinthe interior volume of the light curtain 52, and when sprayed fromapplicator 40 and/or nozzle 42, the mist 45 may generally form a conicalshape as it sprays toward the nail. The angle of the mist 45 of fineparticles is preferably large enough so that, concurrently with or priorto reaching the nail, the mist 45 passes through the light curtain 52.Portions of mist 45 that do not cross the light curtain 52 will land onthe nail and remain in an uncured state, as those portions of mist 45have not yet been exposed to the source energy. The portions of the mist45 that do cross the light curtain 52, on the other hand, will cure asthey cross the light curtain 52. This mid-air curing may occur becausethe atomized nail polish is in the form of small droplets, and thus areable to rapidly cure as the tiny droplets are exposed to the UV curingenergy of the light curtain 52. As a result of this method, after aninitial spray of mist 45 of uncured atomized nail polish while the lightcurtain 52 is active, any atomized nail polish landing on the nail willremain in an uncured state 47, while any nail polish passing through thelight curtain and landing elsewhere (such as the skin adjacent the nailplate or a bottom surface of the housing 10) will be in a cured state49, as those portions have cured prior by the light curtain prior tolanding on the particular surface. This is represented schematically inFIG. 9B.

After the initial spray of nail polish in mist 45, a second curing stagemay be performed similar to the border control method. For example, aflash cure event may be provided in which a UV bulb or other deviceindiscriminately cures all of the remaining uncured nail polish withinhousing 10, or otherwise the high speed mirror galvanometers may pass aUV beam along all the areas at and interior to the detected nailboundary. The result of the second stage curing with all polish in acured state 49 is represented schematically in FIG. 9C. After the secondstage of curing in the light curtain method, the user may remove his orher finger from the housing 10. Any nail polish that landed on theuser's skin outside the nail area at this point will be easilyremovable, as the nail polish was already cured prior to landing on theskin. After the removal of the cured nail polish from the first stage,the result is that the nail polish that was cured after contact with thenail will remain attached to the nail in a cured state 49, as shownschematically in FIG. 9D. This removal of nail polish outside thedesired nail boundary may be cleaner or more easily managed compared to(i) cleaning uncured nail polish from the skin, as uncured nail polishmay be wet and generally messy and (ii) cleaning nail polish that hasbeen cured to the skin after contact, as that nail polish that has beencured onto the skin may be difficult to remove with a simple wipe of acloth.

Some conventional photo-curable nail polish gel formulations rely on afree radical curing process that is subject to oxygen inhibition. Inconventional nail polish gel applications and curing, this oxygeninhibition may result in the top-most layer of the gel to have a tackytexture because it has been exposed to oxygen which at least partiallyinhibits the curing, whereas the polish beneath the surface cures morereadily as it is exposed to a lower amount of oxygen. As a result, inconventional nail polish gel applications and curing, the top layer mayneed to be wiped off with a wipe such as an alcohol wipe to remove thetop tacky layer, leaving the fully cured underlying gel as the outermostlayer. If the system of FIG. 9A is used with atomized nail polish whichis inhibited from curing due to the presence of oxygen, the second stagecuring process may be suboptimal as the fine particles may have beenexposed to a relatively large amount of oxygen as they passed from thenozzle to the nail within the nail boundary. Thus, the second stagecuring may be inhibited by exposure of the nail polish to oxygen.However, this negative effect of oxygen inhibition in the system of FIG.9A may be reduced and/or eliminated by flooding an amount of inert gas,such as argon or carbon dioxide, into the housing 10 prior to theinitial spray of atomized nail polish. Still further, if the atomizednail polish is sprayed using a propellant that reduces the ability ofoxygen within housing 10 to contact the fine particles of nail polish,the negative effects of oxygen inhibition may be reduced. However, itshould be understood that some formulations of curable nail polish maybe subject to significantly less oxygen inhibition than otherformulations, such that the use of this type of formulation may reduceand/or eliminate the benefits of exposure to inert gases. Still further,in some instances it may be possible to overcome the potential oxygeninhibition by application of enough of the curing energy source (or alarge enough power of the energy curing source), such that evenformulations of curable nail polish that are prone to oxygen inhibitionmay be cured with minor or no ill effects from oxygen inhibition,whether or not inert gases are introduced into the system.

In the embodiments described above, the applicator 40 may be used toprovide relatively large liquid droplets of nail polish or to propelatomized nail polish in a spray or a mist of very fine particles. Ineither case, if it is desired to direct the liquid droplets or theatomized spray, a motorized gantry system may be used to move theapplicator 40 and/or nozzle 42 in up to six degrees of freedom of motionto a desired position within housing 10. However, in some circumstancesit may be desirable to reduce and/or eliminate as many moving parts arepossible, while still retaining the ability to direct the nail polish asit exits the applicator 40 and/or nozzle 42. Any of the nail polishapplication systems described above may include what will be referred toherein as an “electrospray applicator,” although it should be understoodthat the electrospray application is capable of depositing eitherrelatively large liquid droplets as described in connection with theborder control method, or an atomized spray of relatively fine particlesas described in connection with the light curtain method. However, to beclear, the electrospray concept described below may be applied to anysystem described herein for depositing nail polish, and may haveparticular benefits including its relatively low complexity.

The general concept of the electrospray method is that, by providing afirst charge to a liquid in a container or reservoir such as a syringe,and by placing that charged liquid in proximity to a second objecthaving the opposite charge, the liquid in the syringe may effectively bedrawn out of the tip of the container and turned into a mist withoutrequiring a propellant. FIG. 10A illustrates a schematic illustration ofan electrospray applicator 100 that can be used with any of the nailpolish application systems described above. Electrospray applicator 100may include a container 140 at least partially filled with the desirednail polish 120 (e.g. photo-curable color coat, base coat, or top coat).Container 140 may be a syringe-type device or any other suitablecontainer, preferably with a relatively narrow opening through whichliquid may pass. Container 140 is illustrated as being supported bysupport 110, but it should be understood that container 140 could besupported by any means that stably holds the container 140 in place. Forexample, container 140 could be coupled to the top of housing 10directly, via support 110 that extends between two side walls 12 ofhousing 10, or in any other fashion that secures container 140 with thetip pointing toward the bottom 18 of the housing 10. Preferably, thenail polish 120 is charged with a first charge, for example a positivecharge as represented in FIG. 10A. The charge of nail polish 120 may beprovided by any suitable mechanism, for example including a positivelead (e.g. cathode) within container 140 or otherwise electricallycoupled to nail polish 120 within container 140.

The second main component of the electrospray system is shown as base150 in FIG. 10A. Base 150 may take the form of any suitable oppositelycharged mechanism. In the example in which the nail polish 120 isprovided with a positive charge via a cathode, the base 150 may take theform of a charge plate having a negative charge (e.g. anode). Base 150may be circular or any other desired shape. In the illustrated example,charge plate 150 is provided with a negative charge and helps furtherdraw the positively charged nail polish downward. The electrical chargemay be provided to charge plate 150 by any suitable means. In a systemsimilar to housing 10, charge plate 150 may be positioned below wherethe user would place his or her finger, such that the user's fingernailis positioned above the charge plate 150 and below the container 140.For example, charge plate 150 could be positioned just above, below, orwithin the bottom wall 18 of housing 10. However, in other embodimentsit may be possible to position charge plate 150 above the fingernail,but such a relative positioning may require some portions of the chargeplate to be open so that the nail polish 120 may pass to the user'sfinger nail without being blocked by the charge plate. The proximitybetween the charged nail polish 120 and the oppositely charged baseplate 150 may depend on various factors, but is preferably such thatliquid nail polish 120 within the container 140 may be turned into amist 124 upon exiting the container.

As shown in FIG. 10A, if enough voltage is applied to the cathode andanode to create a charge differential between the liquid nail polish 120and base plate 150, and if the distance between tip of container 140 andbase plate 150 is small enough, the liquid at the tip of the container140 may form what is known as a Taylor cone, with the liquid turninginto a plume or mist 124 as it is expelled from the container 140 towardcharge plate 150. As noted above, this allows for liquid nail polish 140to be turned into a mist 124, if desired, without the need forpropellants or the like, which may reduce complexity of the system. Itshould be understood that the illustration of FIG. 10A is simplified forpurposes of explanation, but the general theory regarding electrosprayapparatus is known to persons of skill in the art, and the underlyingtheory is thus not described in significant additional detail herein.

As shown in FIGS. 10B-C, electrospray applicator 100 may additionallyinclude one or more leads positioned at, near, or along the path whichthe nail polish 120 is expected to flow in the absence of forces otherthan gravity and/or the opposite charge provided by charge plate 150. Inthe illustrated example, a first lead 130L is provided in the left sideof the drawing, and a second lead 130R is provided in the right side ofthe drawing. Left and right leads 130L, 130R are illustrated as beingsecured to support 110, although it should be understood that leads130L, 130R may be secured in any desirable fashion that allows the tipof the leads to be in the desired position near the flow path of nailpolish 120. Left and right leads 130L, 130R may also be provided withcharge opposite the charge of the nail polish 120. For purposes ofillustration, left and right leads 130L, 130R are illustrated as havinga negative charge, similar to charge plate 150, compared to the positivecharge of the nail polish 120. Further, in practice the tip of the leads130L, 130R near the flow path may be where the charge is exposed orconcentrated, but for ease of illustration the entire left and rightleads 130L, 130R are shown as having a negative charge.

Providing leads 130L, 130R with electrospray applicator 100 may providethe additional ability to direct the nail polish in a particulardirection without requiring any moving parts. For example, as shown inFIGS. 10B-C, the left and right leads 130L, 130R may be chargeddifferently to create an electric field which will pull the mist 124 ofnail polish 120 in a desired direction. As shown in FIG. 10B, left lead130L includes a greater charge, so the charged nail polish 120 has agreater attraction in that direction, while FIG. 10C illustrates theopposite scenario. It should be understood that although two leads 130L,130R are shown in FIGS. 10B-C, additional leads could be positioned ator near the flow path of nail polish 120 to provide more precise controlof the directionality of the mist 124 of nail polish 120, although thesystem could still provide suitable directionality with a single leadinstead of the two leads shown. In other words, electrospray applicator100 is capable of both creating a fine mist of nail polish 120, whichmay be useful for example in the light curtain method described above,and also directing the mist 124 of nail polish 120 in a desireddirection to allow for further precision in the application of the nailpolish 120 to a user's nail within housing 100, all without requiringany moving parts such as a gantry system. In addition, although theleads 130L, 130R are illustrated as having an opposite charge of thenail polish 120, resulting in an attractive force that pulls the nailpolish toward the leads, it may be preferable for leads 130L, 130R toprovide directionality via a repulsive force. For example, if nailpolish 120 has a positive charge, it may be preferable that leads 130L,130R have a positive charge to direct the nail polish 120 via repulsion.Using a repulsive force may reduce the likelihood that any of the nailpolish 120 gets pulled in a direction back against gravity after firstpassing the leads 130L, 130R.

Still further, it should be understood that if the voltage supplied tonail polish 120 and/or charge plate 150 is small enough, the electricfield created may not result in the nail polish 120 turning into a mist124 as explained in connection with FIGS. 10A-C. Rather, if thedifference in charge between the nail polish 120 and the charge plate150 is below the threshold to create mist 124, the nail polish 120 mayexit the container 140 in a non-atomized form such as a relatively largedroplet 122, as shown in FIGS. 10D-E. However, leads 130L and 130R maystill be provided with a charge opposite to that the droplet 122 tocause a change in direction depending on the particular electric field.For example, as shown in FIG. 10D, the charge differential between thenail polish 120 and the charge plate 150 is small enough such that thenail polish 120 remains in the form of a droplet(s) 122 as it exits thetip of the container 140. However, the charge applied to leads 130L,130R is such that the electric field attracts droplet 122 in a directiontoward left lead 130L. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 10E, an electricfield may be produced below the threshold, but still able to pulldroplet 122 to the right. It should again be understood that more leadsmay be provided to allow for further precision in directing a droplet122 to a position on a user's fingernail positioned between charge plate150 and container 140. It should be understood that, although the termelectrospray applicator is used, in the use shown and described inconnection with FIGS. 10D-E, a “spray” may not actually be created, butthe term is still used in this context for consistency with the similarphysical configuration described in connection with FIGS. 10A-C. Itshould further be understood that electrospray apparatus 100 may be usedwith the border control method described above to allow for relativelylarge droplets of nail polish to be directed onto a user's fingernail,with the precision of deposition increased by the ability to change thedirection of the droplet 122 between the point of exiting container 140and landing on the user's nail. However, as noted above, any of theelectrospray configurations described herein may be applied to any othermethod described herein for applying and/or curing nail polish.

Electrospray applicator 100, and similar alternatives (for exampleincluding more leads or different mechanisms of securing the leadsand/or container) may be implemented with any of the nail polish systemsdescribed above, for example in place of the applicator 40 and/or nozzle42 described in housing 10. The electrospray applicator 100 may furtherbe used with any of the methods of depositing and curing nail polishdescribed above, including methods which use relatively large dropletsand methods that use relatively fine particles or mists/sprays. Stillfurther, electrospray applicator 100 may be formed in differentconfigurations to provide similar results. In one example, instead ofhaving a charge plate 150 for the purpose of creating a mist, andseparate leads 130L, 130R for the purpose of directing charged liquid ina desired direction, these features could be combined. For example, asingle charge element in the shape of ring or another similar shape withan open interior may be provided in a position between the user's fingernail and the container 140. With such ring element, voltage may beapplied in sufficient quantity to cause the nail polish 120 (which hasan opposite charge) to turn into a mist upon exiting the container 140.The open interior space of the ring element would allow the mist to passthrough the ring element and to be deposited onto a user's finger nailpositioned below. Still further, the ring element could be provided witha non-uniform charge around the circumference in order to direct themist passing through the ring. This may be achieved in any suitable way,for example by providing various individual anode elements along thecircumference of the ring that can be individually charged to create anydesired charge gradient along the ring.

It should be noted that the electrospray concept may be used withrelatively large voltages, for example in the thousands of volts, whichmay be generally atypical of consumer electronics. However, it should benoted that high voltages may not create a significant safety issue, asthe electrospray system may be used with very small amounts of currentthat do not pose danger to the user. However, there may be a minimalconcern of applying a charged particle to the nail and/or skin of auser. In the examples described above, nail polish 120 is illustrated ashaving a positive charge. However, as noted above, the electrospraysystem would work effectively in the same way if the nail polish 120 isprovided with a negative charge and the charge plate 150 (and/or leads130L, 130R) are provided with a positive charge. In order to reduceand/or eliminate the concern about depositing a charged particle onto auser, the charges of the nail polish 120 and charge plate 150 may beoscillated such that, during one or more portions of the application,nail polish 120 has a positive charge and charge plate 150 has anegative charge, and then in one or more other portions of theapplication, nail polish 120 is reversed to have a negative charge andcharge plate 150 is reversed to have a positive charge. With thisconfiguration, the net charge of particles of nail polish 120 applied tothe user may be zero or near zero to reduce and/or eliminate any concernof a charge buildup occurring by deposition of a charged particle ontothe user.

Although the various embodiments of curing a photo-curable nail polishhave been described above as a flash curing process or curing via anenergy source having a scanning pattern, other curing methods arepossible. For example, in any of the embodiments described above, afirst polish (e.g. a base coat or a polish having a first color) may beonly partially cured, with a second polish (e.g. a top coat or a polishhaving a second color) being applied to the partially-cured firstpolish, followed by a complete cure. This process may provide fordifferent aesthetics, for example swirling-type of color patterns. Inother examples, particular scanning patterns of the curing energy may beapplied to achieve different results, for example different textures. Inone example, the polish may be cured via a laser scan pattern that curesas it sweeps along a first “line,” and then cures along a second “line”parallel to the first line, leaving a gap between the two lines. Theuncured polish between the two cured “lines” may form a meniscus, and ifthat uncured polish is then cured while having the meniscus, a differenttexture quality may result compared to, for example, a flash curingprocess.

Various mechanisms for depositing uncured nail polish resin onto auser's nail have been described above, for example including aerosol andelectrospray techniques. However, still other mechanisms may besuitable. FIGS. 11A-B illustrate side and front views, respectively, ofan application mechanism 200 that may be used with one or more of thesystems described above to apply a nail polish resin to a user's nail.Generally, application mechanism 200 may include a housing 220, a firstapplicator 240, and a second applicator 260, although it should beunderstood that a single applicator may be used instead of multipleapplicators.

Referring to FIG. 11C, housing 220 may have any suitable shape toreceive the first applicator 240 therein, as well as the secondapplicator 260 if included in application mechanism 200. In theillustrated embodiment, housing 220 includes a plurality of sidewalls222 and a base 224 extending between the sidewalls that together form arecess for receiving second applicator 260. Although not labeled and/orshown in FIG. 11C, a similar or identical group of sidewalls and basemay form another recess opposite the first recess to receive firstapplicator 240 therein. Preferably, the recesses in housing 220 have acomplementary shape to the portions of the first applicator 240 and/orthe second applicator 260 to be received in the recesses. In theillustrated example, each applicator 240, 260 has a substantiallyrectangular base that is received within the corresponding rectangularrecesses of housing 220, and a rounded or pointed tip extending from therectangular base. As shown in FIGS. 11A-B, when the first applicator 240and the second applicator 260 are received within the housing 220, atleast some portion of the applicators, including the tip, preferablyextends beyond the sidewalls 222 of housing 220. The first applicator240 and second applicator 260 may be secured to housing 220 in anysuitable manner, including for example via adhesives and/or aninterference fit between the applicators and the housing.

Each applicator 240, 260 may be formed of any suitable material that iscapable of absorbing, retaining, and/or dispensing the particularcomponent that the applicator is intended to apply. For example, thefirst applicator 240 may be used to apply curable nail polish resin,including color, base, and/or top coats as described above. The secondapplicator 260 may be used to apply a wiping solution, such as analcohol solution, to remove uncured nail polish resin from a user's nailand/or skin surrounding the user's nail.

First applicator 240, when used to apply a curable nail polish resin, ispreferably an open-cell foam that can be soaked, impregnated, orsaturated with the curable nail polish resin so that the firstapplicator 240 absorbs the resin and is able to deposit the resin on auser's nail when the applicator is brought into contact with the user'snail. When the first applicator 240 is an open-cell foam, the particulartype of foam material, as well as the cell structure and/or size of thefoam, may be tailored to the particular resin being used with the foam.In one example, a polyurethane or similar material may be suitable formany types of nail polish resin. Whatever material is used to form thefirst applicator 240, it is preferable that the first applicator 240 iscapable of absorbing enough nail polish resin for the desired use, andthat the shape and the material of the first applicator 240 allows fordeposition of the resin to the user's nail with substantially evencoverage of the nail. The shape of the first applicator 240 may includea rounded or “V”-shaped tip that is intended to contact the user's nail,with the tip extending across the entire surface of the nail in adirection orthogonal to the direction of the user's finger, so thatdragging the applicator 240 along the nail in a direction parallel tothe user's finger evenly coats the entire surface of the nail withresin. However, it should be understood that applicator 240 could bemoved in any desired direction relative to the user's finger, includingtoward or away from the direction in which the finger points, transversethat direction, with any desired rotational motion, or any other motionconfigured to provide the desired deposition from the applicator 240 tothe nail. In some uses, described in greater detail below, a singleapplication mechanism is intended for use with a single manicure, whichmay encompass a total of ten nails, and thus the first applicator 240preferably contains enough nail polish resin for application to tennails total, including, for example, one, two, or three coats of nailpolish resin per nail. In some embodiments, the first applicator 240 maybe configured to retain additional nail polish resin to provide enoughresin for additional rounds of application to allow for fixes, forexample if a user chips the nail polish shortly after performing themanicure (or pedicure). In addition, first applicator 240 is preferablysaturated with the particular nail polish resin intended for use withthe first applicator 240 so that minimal or no air remains in the firstapplicator 240, otherwise compression of the first applicator 240 duringdeposition of resin to the user's nail could also cause air bubbles toform in or on the deposited resin, which is undesirable.

Second applicator 260, when used to apply a wiping solution such as analcohol solution, may also be an open-cell foam that can be soaked,impregnated, or saturated with the wiping solution. The particularwiping solution may be any solution that is effective at removinguncured nail polish resin, including, but not limited to, isopropylalcohol, with or without acetone. Second applicator 260 may have asimilar or different shape than first applicator 240, and may be madefrom similar or different materials. As with first applicator 240,second applicator 260 should be formed from a material that is capableof absorbing and depositing the particular wiping solution to be usedwith the second applicator 260. Because second applicator 260 isintended for use in wiping the user's nail and surrounding skin afterresin has been cured onto the nail, it is preferable that the secondapplicator 260 is formed from a soft material that will not causescratches or other damage to the cured resin on the user's nail. Itshould be understood that applicator 260 could be moved in any desireddirection relative to the user's finger to provide the desired wiping orcleaning action, including toward or away from the direction in whichthe finger points, transverse that direction, with any desiredrotational motion, or any other motion configured to provide the desireddeposition/wiping from the applicator 260 to the nail. Still further, itshould be understood that the wiping solution may be specific to thetype of resin being used. For example, if the resin is water soluble orpartially water soluble, the wiping solution may be water orwater-based. If the resin is alcohol soluble or partially alcoholsoluble, the wiping solution may be alcohol or alcohol-based.

It should be understood that, although a housing with two applicators isillustrated and described, the same or a different housing may be usedwith a single applicator that includes curable nail polish resinimpregnated therein for application to a user's nail, without anycorresponding second applicator. In such an embodiment, the steps ofwiping away uncured nail polish with an alcohol solution described belowmay be completely omitted, or otherwise performed manually. Similarly,although the housing is illustrated and described as including twoapplicators at opposite sides of the housing, this is not necessary. Forexample, in some embodiments, two (or more) applicators could be on thesame side of a housing, or otherwise positioned on different sides ofthe housing that are not necessarily opposite one another. When twoapplicators are used, including one that functions to apply curable nailpolish resin to a user's nail, and one that functions to wipe awayuncured nail polish resin from the user's nail and/or surrounding skin,the two applicators should be positioned and/or spaced apart relative toone another so that one applicator does not interfere with use of theother applicator. In other words, both applicators could be positionedon the same side of a housing and spaced apart from one another, so thatthe first applicator applies the nail polish resin, and the secondapplicator wipes away uncured nail polish resin, with a space in betweenthe two applicators to allow for UV light or other curing energy to curethe resin deposited by the first applicator before the second applicatorcontacts the portion of the user's nail which the first applicator hasalready contacted. In other words, the first and second applicator, if asecond applicator is included, may have any positioning relative to oneanother that allows for performance of the main functions of depositingnail polish resin, curing the resin on the nail, and wiping away uncurednail polish. Although embodiments with one or two applicators aredescribed above, it should be understood that any number of applicatorsmay be used, for example including a system having one applicator for abase coat, one applicator for a color coat, one applicator for a topcoat, and another applicator for a wiping solution. Similarly,applicators for other components (e.g. additional color coats) may alsobe suitable for use in a single housing or within a single applicationmechanism.

FIGS. 12A-G illustrate an exemplary use of the application mechanism 200in a system similar to that described in connection with FIGS. 1-2. FIG.12A illustrates a first step in a manicure (or pedicure) method in whichapplication mechanism 200, with first applicator 240 already havingalready been soaked with the desired curable nail polish resin, and thesecond applicator 260 having already been soaked with the desired wipingsolution. The user may attach the application mechanism 200 to areceiving mechanism within housing 10. In the illustrated example, theapplication mechanism includes a mating structure attached to housing220, which is shown as three cylindrical protrusions 226, 228, 230extending from a side of the housing 220 and being arranged in atriangular pattern. In FIG. 12A, the receiving mechanism may include amating member 232 having a corresponding mating structure, such as threecylindrical recesses that each receive a corresponding cylindricalprotrusion 226, 228, 230. Mating member 232 may be coupled to anelongate arm 234 that is attached to movable member 236, which in turnis operatively coupled to housing 10.

When the application mechanism 200 is coupled to mating member 232, oncethe manicure process is initiated, the movable member 236 may move in adirection toward the user's nail to bring the tip of the firstapplicator 240 into contact with the user's nail, preferably at or nearthe proximal end of the user's nail, as shown in FIG. 12B. Aftercontacting the user's nail, the movable member 236 may retract to dragthe tip of the first applicator 240 across the user's nail in order todeposit an even coat of curable nail polish resin on the user's nail, asshown in FIG. 12C. With the first coat of polish having been applied tothe user's nail as shown in FIGS. 12A-C, the UV source 50 may activateto cure the resin on the user's nail, preferably with the assistance ofthe camera 20 and/or another mechanism used to detect the edges and/orcontours of the user's nail. It should be understood that camera 20 andUV source 50 may take the form of any of the embodiments describedabove, including for example two high speed mirror galvanometers thatdirect UV energy (although it should be understood that other energy maybe appropriate depending on the particular type of curable resin) onlyto areas of the user's nail as detected by the camera 20 (although itshould be understood that the camera may take any suitable form and maybe operatively coupled to any suitable edge detection and/or anatomicalor shape recognition hardware/software). It should be understood thatthe deposition of the resin described in connection with FIGS. 12A-C maybe likely to deposit resin on the user's skin in addition to the user'snail, but that resin remains uncured after the first curing step becauseof the precision of the UV source 50.

FIG. 12D illustrates the application mechanism 200 having been broughtback to a position above the user's nail, for example via the movablemember 236 moving up and extending the application mechanism 200 towardthe user's nail, which may be completed in one or more steps. With theposition of the application mechanism 200 being substantially reset, themating member 232 may rotate, for example about 180 degrees, to cause acorresponding rotation in the application mechanism 200, as shown inFIG. 12E. The rotation of application mechanism 200 may be achieved withany suitable rotational connection between arm 234 and mating member232, including motor-driven rotational connections. Once the rotation iscomplete, as shown in FIG. 12E, the second applicator 260 is positionedfacing the nail, and the process described above can be repeated. Forexample, the tip of second applicator 260 may be brought downward towardthe user's nail, as shown in FIG. 12F, then the second applicator 260retract to drag the second applicator 260 across the user's nail andadjacent skin to wipe away any uncured resin that remains on the user'snail and/or skin, as shown in FIG. 12G. Then, the application mechanism200 may be brought back to the position shown in FIG. 12E. If additionalcoats of resin are to be applied, the application mechanism 200 mayrotate again to move the first applicator 240 to face the user's nail,and the entire process of resin application and wiping away of uncuredresin can be repeated for each additional desired coat. By partially orfully automating the deposition of nail polish resin, curing of thatresin with high precision, and removing uncured resin remaining on theuser's skin adjacent the nail, three coats of nail polish resin may becured onto a user's nail (including up to three corresponding cycles ofcleaning the user's skin with the wiping solution), in as little as aminute or less.

It should be understood that linear movements of application mechanism200 may be provided by any desired system, and in some embodiments, asdescribed in greater detail below, linear movements may omittedentirely. For example, the moveable member 236 and/or arm 234 may bepart of a two-axis motor driven gantry that provides for movement in theleft-right and up-down direction of FIGS. 12A-G. A third axis ofmovement in the “Z” axis into and out of the page of FIGS. 12A-G may beprovided as well, although it may be unnecessary, particularly if thefirst and second applicators 240, 260 are wide enough to extend theentire width of the user's nail(s). It should also be understood thatmovable member 236 may be movable along a single linear axis, with arm234 being having a telescopic motion feature which provides for theleft-right movement of the applicator system 200 in the view of FIGS.12A-G. Still further, the active motor-driven rotation of applicationmechanism 200 may be removed in some embodiments. For example, ifmovable member 236 is capable of moving along two linear axes, a pin orother structure may be placed at a desired location within housing 10,so that, when it is time to rotate application mechanism 200, themovable member 236 may position application mechanism 200 adjacent thatpin, and by pushing (or pulling) the application mechanism 200 againstthat pin, cause rotation of the application mechanism via contact withthe pin, removing the necessity for a separate motor-driven rotation ofapplication mechanism 200. It should be understood that, in embodimentsin which application mechanism 200 is rotatable, mating member 232 mayalso be rotatable with respect to arm 234.

It should also be understood that, although the application system 200is described as having three cylindrical protrusions arranged in atriangular shape that mate with three corresponding recesses in matingmember 232, this is merely one example and other mating structures maybe sufficient. For example, the housing 220 of application system 200may instead include three cylindrical recesses in a triangular shape,with mating member 232 including three corresponding cylindricalprotrusions in a corresponding triangular shape.

More broadly, members other than cylindrical protrusions andcorresponding cylindrical recesses, as well as members being positionedin configurations other than triangular configurations, may be equallysuitable for use in allowing coupling of application mechanism 200 tomating member 232. Preferably, any connection mechanism used to coupleapplication mechanism 200 to mating member 232 allows for rotationalmovement of mating member 232 to be translated to application mechanism200 to allow for switching between the first applicator 240 and thesecond applicator 260 facing the user's nail.

It should be understood that any of the linear movements of applicationmechanism 200 shown in FIGS. 12A-G may be based on fixed, pre-programmedmovements, or may be based on detected positions of the user's nail. Forexample, edge detection, shape recognition, and/or other software,including any examples described above, may help determine the positionof the user's nail in space with respect to the housing 10 and/or theapplication mechanism 200. This information may be utilized whendirecting movement of the movable member 236 and/or other movingcomponents to position the first applicator 240 and/or second applicator260 in desired positions relative to the user's nail and/or surroundingskin. In other examples, the movements shown in FIG. 12A-G may bepre-programmed so that movable member 236 moves through a particularrange of motion in a particular sequence, with the assumption that theuser will place his or her nail in the indicated position to allow foraccurate deposition of resin and wiping of uncured resin by applicationmechanism 200. In still other embodiments, the movements may be based onuser input. For example, movable system 236 may move application system200 through a fixed sequence of movements, with the particular sequencebeing based on which finger the user indicates is the housing 10, sincea fixed sequence of movements for a user's thumbnail may not beappropriate for use on the same user's middle fingernail.

Referring still to FIGS. 12A-G, it should be understood that there is apossibility that, when UV source 50 is directing UV energy toward theuser's nail to cure the resin deposited by application mechanism 200,resin stored within first applicator 240 may be cured to some degree,for example if UV energy scatters or reflects off of a surface towardthe first applicator 240. Although this risk may be small, particularlywith a highly precise UV source 50, the risk may be further mitigated byvarious methods. In one example, shown in FIG. 13, the movable member236 may cause the application mechanism 200 to be positioned in contactwith an additional enclosure 111, so that the first applicator 240 isblocked from being exposed to energy originating from UV source 50 whilethe UV source is active. Enclosure 111 is illustrated as a plurality ofwalls that, together with a bottom wall 14 of housing 10 and the housing220 of application mechanism 200, form a sealed or substantially sealedvolume in which the first applicator 240 resides. The first applicator240 may be positioned within the enclosure for the duration of anyapplication of energy from UV source 50, with the first applicator beingphysically blocked to exposure to that energy from enclosure 111, thehousing 220 of application mechanism 200, and/or the bottom wall 14 ofhousing 10. Although enclosure 111 is shown in one specific locationwithin housing 10, it should be understood that the enclosure may haveany desired shape and be in any desired position, as long as it servesto eliminate or minimize the possibility of UV energy being directed tofirst applicator 240 while the UV source 50 is active. Other mechanismsthat provide the same or a similar result via different structures mayalso be used instead of an enclosure 111. For example, a cap or otherstructure may be provided on housing 220 of application mechanism 200that shields first applicator 240 from UV energy when the cap is in aclosed condition, and exposes the first applicator 240 for deposition ofresin onto the user's nail when the cap is in an open condition, the capbeing transitionable between the open and closed condition depending onthe particular stage of the manicure process.

Application mechanism 200 is described in connection with FIGS. 12A-G asbeing connectable to a motor system that includes one or two lineardegrees of freedom and a single rotational degree to allow for switchingbetween using the first applicator 240 and the second applicator 260.However, it may be desirable to reduce or eliminate linear movement ofapplication mechanism 200, since rotational movement is often simplerfrom a manufacturing and/or use standpoint. FIGS. 14A-D illustrateapplication mechanism 200 being used in a system that includes only twopoints of rotation. Application mechanism 200 may be coupled to a matingmember 232′ that is substantially identical to mating member 232, andwhich is coupled to a base 236′ via an arm 234′. The proximal end of arm234′ may be rotatably coupled to base 236′. Nail polish resin may bedeposited onto the user's nail by rotating arm member 234′, which causesfirst applicator 240 to drag across the user's nail to deposit the resinas the application mechanism 200 transitions between the positions shownin FIG. 14A and in FIG. 14B. After deposition of the resin, the resinmay be cured as described in connection with other systems above, andduring that curing stage the first applicator 240 may be shielded fromenergy emanating from UV source 50 with methods similar to thosedescribed above. After curing, the application mechanism 200 may rotate180 degrees, as shown in FIG. 14C, in substantially the same manner asdescribed above in connection with FIG. 12E. Then, the arm 234′ mayrotate back to its initial position, causing the second applicator 260soaked in the wiping solution to wipe uncured resin from the user's nailas it transitions from the position shown in FIG. 14C to the positionshown in FIG. 14D. This process may be repeated for additionalapplication of coats of resin and wiping solution as described above.Although the system shown in FIGS. 14A-D provides for a first point ofrotation between the proximal end of arm 234′ and the base 236′, and asecond point of rotation between the distal end of arm 234′ and matingmember 232′, it should be understood that other particularconfigurations may similarly allow for application of the resin viafirst applicator 240 and wiping uncured resin via the wiping solution insecond applicator 260 with only rotational movement of applicationmechanism 200.

Still referring to FIGS. 14A-D, it may be preferable that both the resinapplication step and the wiping step are completed by dragging thecorresponding applicator in the same general direction from the base ofthe user's nail toward the tip of the user's nail. A system like thatshown in FIGS. 14A-D could provide for such a process, for example bycausing application mechanism 200 to rotate about 90 degrees in the stepillustrated in FIG. 14C, then returning application mechanism 200 to aposition above the base of the user's nail and rotating the applicationmechanism 200 another 90 degrees so that the second applicator 260 facesthe user's nail. The application mechanism 200 could then be draggedalong the user's nail toward the tip in substantially the same mannershown in FIGS. 14A-B. This type of configuration would allow for bothapplicators to drag along the user's nail in the same type of direction.The 90 degree rotation of application mechanism 200 after an applicationor wiping step may be performed so that, when the application mechanism200 returns to an initial position in preparation for the nextdeposition, the applicators 240, 260 are clear of the user's nail.

As noted above, because first applicator 240 dispenses a curable resinand second applicator dispenses a wiping solution, the first and secondapplicators may have a limited use before needing to be refilled orreplaced. Referring back to FIG. 11C, in some embodiments, the firstapplicator 240 and/or second applicator 260 may be removable fromhousing 220 so that they may be removed from the housing 220 once theresin and/or wiping solution is partially or fully dispensed, andreplaced with a fresh replacement applicator for continued use. However,this type of replacement may be practically difficult, as resin and/orwiping solution may have transferred to portions of housing 220 andbecause the process may be generally messy, among other reasons. Thus,it is generally preferable that application mechanism 200, including thefirst and/or second applicators 240, 260, be provided as a separate,disposable element. For example, application mechanism 200 may beprovided to an end user in a pre-packaged form with a particular nailpolish resin already soaked into first applicator 240, and a wipingsolution already soaked into second applicator 260. This may allow for avariety of different types and colors of nail polish resins to beprovided in pre-packaged form, and even particular wiping solutions thatare more effective at wiping whatever corresponding resin is provided onthe first applicator 240. Because the first and second applicators 240,260 may tend to dry over time, it is desirable to seal first applicator240 and the second applicator 260 with the housing 220 so that apre-packaged application mechanism 200 can be opened just prior to thetime of use, ensuring that the materials soaked into the applicators donot dry out or otherwise suffer from prolonged exposure to ambientconditions. For example, as shown in FIG. 15, a sealing member 242 maybe coupled to housing 220 so that first applicator 240 is completelysealed between the sealing member 242 and the housing 220. Similarly, asealing member 262 may be coupled to housing 220 so that secondapplicator 260 is completely sealed between the sealing member 262 andthe housing 220. The sealing members 242, 262 may take any suitableform, for example foil or metal sheets that are welded or otherwiseattached to housing, for example via induction sealing. However, itshould be understood that other types of seals, including plastic seals,or plastic caps, may be similarly suitable. While FIG. 15 illustratesseals 242, 262 in broken line, it should be understood that the sealsare preferably impermeable or substantially impermeable to air so thatthe applicators do not dry out during storage. Preferably, if thematerial which the applicator holds is curable by a particular type ofenergy, such as UV light, the seal for that applicator also partially,substantially, or completely blocks the relevant type of energy frompassing through to the applicator. For example, if first applicator 240includes UV-curable nail polish resin, seal 242 preferably limits UVlight from passing through the seal and striking the resin on theapplicator to completely or substantially completely prevent the resinfrom prematurely curing. While two seals are generally shown, it shouldbe understood that a seal may be provided for each applicator in aparticular application mechanism, as desired. Further, it should beunderstood that whatever type of energy (e.g. electromagnetic energy ofa particular type or spectrum) is adapted to cure the particular type ofresin being used, the relevant seals preferably are configured to block(entirely or substantially entire) that type of energy from passingthrough the seal.

In some embodiments, seals 242 and/or 262 may be manually removed priorto use of the application mechanism 200. For example, one or both sealscould be removed by the user prior to connecting application mechanism200 to the system that will assist in applying and curing the nailpolish. However, in other embodiments it may be preferable to partiallyor fully automate the removal of one or both seals 242, 262 by the nailpolish application and curing system. For example, it may be preferableto configure seals 242 and/or 262 and housing 220 so that, uponconnection of the mating mechanism of the housing to the correspondingmating member of the housing 10, one or both seals or punctured, broken,or otherwise modified so that the applicators become at least partiallyexposed and able to perform their functions of applying resin and/oralcohol wiping solution. For example, the seals or the housing of theapplication mechanism may include sliders that are forced to slide alongthe length of the seals as the application mechanism is coupled to thecorresponding mating structure in the housing, causes the seals to tearor otherwise disconnect from the housing as the sliders move along theseals. Other devices may be provided, such as blades or other mechanismthat can cut the seal and roll the seal to remove the seal, or that canskewer or scrape the seal away from the application mechanism. Still inother embodiments, a plastic or similar shell may be provided around theapplicators, with the plastic shell being broken upon connection to themating structure of the housing. For example, such a housing may beperforated or otherwise structured to be readily forced open, forexample in a clam-shell type action, upon connection with the matingstructure of the housing.

For any of the embodiments described above that incorporate a curableresin nail polish, it may be desirable to regulate the temperature ofthe resin during or prior to deposition onto a user's nail. When UV orother curing light or energy contacts the curable resin, the temperatureof the resin may affect how the resin cures. For example, when curingenergy (e.g. UV light) interacts with a curable resin that has not yetcured, free radicals in the resin may be released to allow monomerswithin the resin to link or cross-link. If the temperature of the resinis higher, the amount and/or strength of the cross-linking may becomecorrespondingly higher. In practice, curing a curable nail polish resinat a relatively low temperature may result in a cured nail polish with amatte finish or appearance, as opposed to a glossy finish or appearancewhich may be more desirable. The reason for the matte finish orappearance may be a result of the cross-linking of the resin beingrelatively low or weak. By curing the resin while the resin is at ahigher temperature, the cured nail polish may have a more glossy finishor appearance, which may be a result of better or stronger cross-linkingof the resin. Regulating the temperature of the curable resin may beachieved by any one of a number of mechanisms. For example, for anyembodiments described above with a nozzle, a heating element may beprovided in, on, or near the nozzle in order to heat the resin as itpasses through the nozzle. In addition or alternatively, for anyembodiments described above in which resin is stored within a cartridgeor similar housing prior to deposition onto the user's nail, a heatingelement may be provided in, on, or near the cartridge or other resinstorage component in order to heat the resin prior to deposition ontothe user's nail. In addition or alternatively, a heating element may beprovided in, on, or near any other component of any of the embodimentsdescribed above to provide general radiant heating to the space in whichthe resin will be prior to curing. For example, a radiant heatingelement may be provided in housing 10 at any desired location in orderto heat the air within the housing, such that the resin may be heated,for example if the resin is stored within a container within thehousing, or as the resin is being deposited while it contacts air withinthe housing that has been heated by the heating element.

A number of different mechanisms for depositing nail polish onto auser's nail have been described above. For example, the use of dropletsdropping onto a user's nail, with or without assistance from an electricfield, is described above. Similarly, the spraying the resin as a mistor otherwise in fine particles is also described above, for exampleusing an aerosol spray or an electrospray technique. Still further,coating foam or another deposition mechanism with resin, and physicallycontacting the foam or other mechanism to a user's nail to deposit theresin has been described above. However, it should be understood thatother deposition mechanisms may be suitable for use with the curingconcepts described above. For example, uncured resin may be provided ina container in which the user may simply dip her fingernail into toensure coverage of the entire nail, with the covered nail inserted intoa system that selectively cures the resin deposited on the nail, withoutcuring resin deposited outside the nail, using any of the suitablecuring mechanisms described above. Although this technique may berelatively messy compared to other more precise techniques, theprecision of the curing will allow the user to easily wipe away any ofthe uncured resin after the resin covering the nail is cured. Stillfurther, other mechanisms may be used to apply uncured resin to theuser's nail. For example, uncured resin may be stored in bottle or otherstorage mechanism that could be squeezed or otherwise actuated todeposit uncured nail polish to the user's nail. Such a bottle may besimilar to a typical shampoo bottle, which may result in a lessprecision of deposition than some of the other mechanisms describedabove, but as also described above, the precision of the curing processmay allow for any uncured resin to be readily cleaned from the user'sskin following curing of the resin deposited on the user's nail. Thedeposition mechanisms described in this paragraph may be generally messyor imprecise relative to other embodiments described herein, but thesemechanisms may be relatively simple and effective in ensuring that theuser's nail is fully covered by resin prior to the curing stage. Itshould be understood that the deposition mechanisms described in thisparagraph may be used with any suitable curing system described herein.

In some embodiments described above, an applicator device includesuncured resin stored therein, with the resin being applied to the user'snail via movement of the applicator so that the applicator contacts theuser's nail to deposit the resin onto the nail. For example, FIGS. 12A-Gand FIGS. 14A-D illustrate an applicator being moved through a range ofmotion to cover a nail with uncured resin. In other embodiments, asimilar applicator may be provided that stores resin or is otherwisecoated in resin, but the applicator may be stationary. In thoseembodiments, the user may move her nail into contact with the applicatorin order to coat the nail with the uncured resin, while the applicatorremains stationary.

In the embodiments described above, the uncured nail polish resin istypically stored in a liquid form prior to deposition onto the user'snail. However, in some circumstances, for example depending on theviscosity of the uncured resin, after deposition of the resin onto theuser's nail but prior to curing, the thickness of the resin on theuser's nail may be somewhat inconsistent, which may be undesirable. Oneway to address the issue of potentially inconsistent thickness of thedeposited resin is to deposit the resin in a form other than from a bulkliquid container. In one example, instead of using a consumableapplicator such as that shown in and described in connection with FIGS.11A-15, a strip of material containing the resin may be applied to theuser's nail prior to curing. This process may be a process that isconceptually similar to foil stamping. In foil stamping, a strip orsheet of foil is typically provided with a heat activated glue on oneside of the strip, with the opposite side of the foil having the desiredaesthetic characteristics. The strip is applied to a surface, withcertain areas of the surfaces heated to bind the glue. The strip may beremoved from the surface, with the previously-heated sections remainingbound to the surface and the remaining surfaces ripping or otherwisebeing removed from the surface, with the result being that thepreviously-heated areas of the surface will retain the strip to presentthe desired characteristics of the foil. For the purposes of applyinguncured nail resin, a conceptually similar mechanism may be used inwhich a strip is provided with one side of the strip having uncuredresin thereon. The strip may be applied to the finger nail, with thestrip stretching or otherwise conforming to the surface of the user'snail. The strip may be clear or otherwise allow curable energy to passthrough the strip, such that UV-energy or other curing energy may bepassed through the strip and interact with the uncured resin on the sideof the strip that is in contact with the user's nail. The curing may beselective curing as described above, with the strip being removed afterthe curing step. One benefit of using such a system is that the resinmay be easily applied to the strip in a uniform thickness, such thatwhen the strip is applied to the user's nail, a uniform thickness ofresin is deposited on the user's nail. Because the resin may be curedselectively, including prior to removing the strip, any uncured resinthat is deposited onto the user's skin outside the boundary of the nailmay be easily removed as described above.

Although the invention herein has been described with reference toparticular embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodimentsare merely illustrative of the principles and applications of thepresent invention. It is therefore to be understood that numerousmodifications may be made to the illustrative embodiments and that otherarrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

1. A method of performing a manicure, the method comprising: providing auser with a strip of material containing curable nail polish in anuncured state; detecting a boundary of the nail of the user using asensor; applying the strip of material to a nail of the user; andselectively curing an amount of the uncured nail polish using an energysource that emits energy for the selective curing.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the sensor is operatively connected to the energysource.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the energy source includes anultraviolet (“UV”) energy course and the nail polish is at leastpartially UV curable.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein applying thestrip of material the nail of the user includes stretching or conformingthe strip to a surface of the nail of the user.
 5. The method of claim1, wherein selectively curing the amount of the uncured nail polishincludes passing the energy from the energy source through the strip ofmaterial.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the strip is clear.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the selective curing is performed after thestrip of material has been applied to the nail of the user.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, wherein selectively curing the amount of the uncurednail polish includes passing the energy from the energy source throughthe strip of material while the strip of material is positioned on asurface of the nail of the user.
 9. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising removing the strip of material from the nail of the userafter selectively curing the amount of the uncured nail polish.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, wherein when the strip of material containing thecurable nail polish in the uncured state is provided to the user, thecurable nail polish on the strip of material has a substantially uniformthickness.
 11. A nail polish application system comprising: a nailpolish applicator configured to apply a curable nail polish to a nail ofa user, the nail polish applicator including a strip of materialcontaining the curable nail polish thereon; an energy source configuredto emit energy to selectively cure the curable nail polish; and a sensorfor detecting a boundary of the nail of the user, the sensor beingoperatively connected to the energy source.
 12. The nail polishapplication system of claim 11, wherein the curable nail polish on thestrip of material is in an uncured state.
 13. The nail polishapplication system of claim 11, wherein the strip of material isconfigured to conform to the nail of the user.
 14. The nail polishapplication system of claim 11, wherein the curable nail polish on thestrip is provided having a uniform thickness.
 15. The nail polishapplication system of claim 11, wherein the curable nail polish iscontained on a first side of the strip of material.
 16. The nail polishapplication system of claim 15, wherein the strip of material is clearso that the energy source is capable of emitting energy through thestrip of material from a second side of the strip of material to thefirst side of the strip of material to cure the curable nail polishcontained thereon.
 17. The nail polish application system of claim 11,wherein the energy source includes an ultraviolet (“UV”) energy sourceand the nail polish is at least partially UV curable.
 18. The nailpolish application system of claim 11, wherein the energy source furtherincludes a UV energy source to apply UV energy to non-selectively curethe nail polish.
 19. The nail polish application system of claim 11,wherein the sensor is configured to detect the boundary of the nail ofthe user periodically to update the detected boundary of the nail overtime.
 20. The nail polish application system of claim 11, wherein thesensor is configured to detect motion of a finger of the user, thefinger containing the nail of the user, in order to (i) update aposition of the boundary or (ii) update a shape of the boundary.